Random Page "Battlefields of England Vol. 1"
Extract from Angus Donaldson, Blood and Honour: The Battlefields of England Vol. 1, (London: Te Deum Press, 1955).
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BLOOD AND HONOUR: BATTLEFIELDS OF ENGLAND Vol. 1 179
that they were in front of them. Or so Malcolm and his lairds believed. With this wrong intelligence, the Scots decided to turn northeast and cross the River Till making for Horton and the old Roman road which would take them to Berwick-upon-Tweed. However Malcolm and his raiders were determined not to leave their slow moving plunder behind.
Whereas the Scottish force had a reason for their slow journey, the English blocking force had none. But it was precisely because of that tardiness that Waltheof found himself at Weetwood, overlooking the Till as the Scots appeared from amongst the trees. Both forces were probably the same distance from the bridge with maybe half-a-mile separating them. The race was on.
Battle of Wooler – phase 1, Weetwood Bridge
The Till was not flooding at this time but it was in full spate. Control of the bridge was key and Waltheof had the instrument to deny Malcolm. The English charged down the gentle slope towards the Till which was the signal for the Scots to start their own charge towards the bridge. About halfway down most of the hundred odd archers in Waltheof’s command reined in while the rest continued towards the bridge to form the shieldwall.
Two archers remained with Waltheof and they were soon needed. As the shieldwall was still forming, with what seemed like agonizing slowness, the first Scottish riders were clattering over the bridge. Waltheof’s captain of archers was Hreodbeorht, and with his companion, he loosed shaft after shaft down the length of the bridge. Their intent, by bringing down horse and/or rider, to make a plug of dead or dying bodies. At the same time the rest of the archers were loosing shafts into the riders on the southern bank.
Hreodbeorht and his companion did more than create a plug. One of the dead or dying bodies on the bridge was Malcolm, a couple of the others were some of his senior advisors. The Scots were now leaderless and pulled
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BLOOD AND HONOUR: BATTLEFIELDS OF ENGLAND Vol. 1 179
that they were in front of them. Or so Malcolm and his lairds believed. With this wrong intelligence, the Scots decided to turn northeast and cross the River Till making for Horton and the old Roman road which would take them to Berwick-upon-Tweed. However Malcolm and his raiders were determined not to leave their slow moving plunder behind.
Whereas the Scottish force had a reason for their slow journey, the English blocking force had none. But it was precisely because of that tardiness that Waltheof found himself at Weetwood, overlooking the Till as the Scots appeared from amongst the trees. Both forces were probably the same distance from the bridge with maybe half-a-mile separating them. The race was on.
Battle of Wooler – phase 1, Weetwood Bridge
The Till was not flooding at this time but it was in full spate. Control of the bridge was key and Waltheof had the instrument to deny Malcolm. The English charged down the gentle slope towards the Till which was the signal for the Scots to start their own charge towards the bridge. About halfway down most of the hundred odd archers in Waltheof’s command reined in while the rest continued towards the bridge to form the shieldwall.
Two archers remained with Waltheof and they were soon needed. As the shieldwall was still forming, with what seemed like agonizing slowness, the first Scottish riders were clattering over the bridge. Waltheof’s captain of archers was Hreodbeorht, and with his companion, he loosed shaft after shaft down the length of the bridge. Their intent, by bringing down horse and/or rider, to make a plug of dead or dying bodies. At the same time the rest of the archers were loosing shafts into the riders on the southern bank.
Hreodbeorht and his companion did more than create a plug. One of the dead or dying bodies on the bridge was Malcolm, a couple of the others were some of his senior advisors. The Scots were now leaderless and pulled
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